


Vacation part 1

by nicksmom3612



Series: SGU Vacation series [3]
Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2018-02-11 22:53:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2086182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicksmom3612/pseuds/nicksmom3612
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rush and Chloe begin a relationship together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vacation part 1

Title:Vacation Part 1 

 

He woke with a start, jerking his hand so that it knocked his glasses off the table at the bedside. It took a few seconds for the cobwebs to clear, and he took a deep breath. The dream (nightmare), was still on the edge of his consciousness, water, long blue fingers probing him, their thoughts in his mind, trying to wrest the information that they wanted from him by force, the almost constant pain with no hope of mercy, no chance to even beg for mercy. Nicholas Rush closed his eyes and took a deep shaky breath as he tried to calm his breathing and slow his heart rate which was racing. He lay there thinking of all the things that required his attention, (and it was a very long list), trying to displace the dream (nightmare), with the reality of life on Destiny.

After a few minutes he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet hitting the cold floor. Out of habit he drew a still shaking hand through his shoulder length dark brown hair, and then reached down to retrieve his fallen glasses. He shook his head ruefully looking at the glasses. They were pretty banged up, one handle made out of wire, which he had replaced after utilizing the original wire to defuse a bomb which had been placed on the back of Dr. Lisa Park. His thoughts were interrupted by his portable radio crackling to life with the voice of Colonel Young, “Rush, this is Young. We need you in the gate room ASAP.” Rush stood, he was fully clothed, having worked himself to the edge of physical exhaustion, and then collapsing on his bunk to tired to undress, again.

He picked up the radio and replied “This is Rush, on my way.” He took a moment to glance at the time. 0700, or 7AM to civilians. He took a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes. Three hours. He had only slept three hours. How much longer could his body keep going at this rate. Working forty eight to seventy two hours, and then only sleeping, at best, three to four hours. ‘Well‘ he thought to himself as he pulled on his socks and shoes, ‘I guess I will find out soon enough‘.

When he arrived in the gate room he was rather surprised to find Colonel Young, Eli, Chloe, and Mr. Brody, laughing and smiling , instead of in the usual panic mode. Young looked up as Rush approached the main control panel, and said “ Rush, just in time.” Turning to Eli he said “ Ok Eli go ahead, tell him.” Rush focused his attention on Eli who began to talk excitedly. “Well” he began, “ We dropped out of FTL, and there are two planets in dialing range. One is not a viable option due to extreme heat and volcanic activity, but the other is a virtual paradise. Tropical climate, oceans, lush vegetation, well you get the idea, perfect, and best of all we have almost four days before we jump back into FTL."

Rush felt four pairs of eyes on him waiting for his reaction. Chloe was noticing how haggard his face looked, pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and he was so thin, mainly because he was always forgetting to eat. She began to smile again, knowing that Dr. Nicholas Rush was about to get a very big surprise.

“That sounds very promising” he began. “We should begin to get teams over there right away. Assuming that the native vegetation is suitable for human consumption we should be able to gather quite a lot in four days. Colonel I have put together a list of needed supplies in order of priority. I will begin compiling a list of people who are best able to identify these items to serve as the primary away team.” He looked at Young and nodded. As he started to turn away Young caught his attention. “As long as your name is at the top of the list Dr.” Young said in a firm tone.

Rush stopped mid stride, standing with his back to them, he said in a low quite voice, (never a good sign), “excuse me Colonel, are you ordering me to go on a food gathering expedition?”

Young calmly replied to Rush’s back, which was still turned to them “ No Dr. I most certainly am not.” He paused for dramatic effect “ Our chief medical officer Lt. Johansen is”

Rush turned slowly to look at the group of them. The smiles faded from their faces at the fierce look on his. Visibly controlling himself he managed to force out the words “Please tell Lt Johansen that I am exceedingly busy at the moment and my time would be better utilized staying here on the ship, and not off picking bloody berries!” Chloe almost didn’t catch that last part as his Scottish brogue, which always got heavier when he was angry, was so thick she could barley understand him.

Young, who could be intimidating in his own right, stepped closer to Rush and said “ This is a medical directive Dr. and one which you will follow, by force if necessary.” His face softened and he added “Look Rush, you are no good to anyone if you kill yourself with work. TJ is very worried about you and you need this rest. Don’t make this difficult, ok?”

Rush started to argue the point, but suddenly stopped. He took a deep breath. God, he really was so tired. “Very well Colonel, I will get my things.” With that he turned and left the room. Young shook his head, “man he really must be tired”

 

Chloe was packing, trying to contain her excitement. Four days on a paradise planet. A planet with oceans and beaches!! She felt a shudder of excitement go through her body. She and Dr. Rush were the only ones who got to stay the whole four days. Her, as a way of making up for her enforced solitary confinement, when they didn’t know if she was going to turn into an alien or not, and Rush because if he didn’t get some R&R he was going to work himself into an early grave. Chloe’s assignment, given to her by TJ, was to make sure that Rush didn’t find a way to work. He wasn’t to even pick a “bloody berry” TJ quoted. Chloe smiled to herself, she had a feeling that she was going to enjoy this assignment.

Later that day, sitting in Rush’s tent on the beach, Chloe thought to herself ‘how can anyone read so much.’ Rush was reading yet another professional journal on his ipod. This had to be the tenth one at least. She had argued with him that she thought reading professional journals was a violation of the no work rule, but he had countered that one mans work was another mans relaxation. Finally, he laid down the ipod and taking off his glasses massaged the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. Chloe seized the opportunity to say “Hey, I hear that there are some awesome fruits on this planet, why don’t we go see if we can find some, huh? I’m starving.”

Nicholas Rush looked over at his young companion and started to say that she should go without him, but seeing the excitement in her eyes couldn’t bring himself to. She had been through so much in such a short time, and really, when he thought about it he was the only one on the Destiny who understood just how much.

He stood up and making a sweeping motion with his hand said “ after you milady” Chloe looked at him wide eyed. She had never seen the charming Nicholas Rush, and she blushed as she thought how handsome he looked in the fading sunlight. His fine features, the high cheekbones, wide forehead, and most intriguing, his large dark brown eyes, which always seemed to have a little sadness in them. She knew that he was, in a quite way, a very powerful man. She had never known any man, even Matt, who exuded such a strong masculine presence. He was a classic Alpha male. As she passed him to step outside she caught his scent, it was intoxicating and sent a thrill of excitement through her. She felt somewhat guilty that she was thinking these thoughts about someone who was not her boyfriend, but she could not deny to herself that she found Dr. Nicholas Rush very attractive. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush and didn‘t know if she would ever be able to tell him how she felt.

They walked out of the makeshift tent into the sun which was starting to set.. Before them was a beautiful white sandy beach and a crystal purple ocean. Chloe had squealed with delight when she had first seen it. It was mesmerizing. Even Rush had had to admit that it was exceedingly beautiful. He looked across the beach to where the away team were packing bags with the provisions which they had gathered that day. There were some who had grumbled that it was unfair for Rush not to be helping with the work, but Young had squashed that quickly by offering to let them take over his work onboard Destiny. “Lt. Scott” Rush called loudly. Matthew Scott looked up from the bag that he was packing and waved his hand at Rush. “We’re going for a stroll, be back soon” Rush shouted, and Scott waved again in acknowledgement.

Scott watched as Rush and Chloe walked down the beach, and felt a pang of jealousy stab him. He wanted to be the one walking down the beach with her, watching the sunset, but he knew that Chloe was only tolerating Rush’s company because TJ had asked her to. Shrugging his shoulders he went back to work.

They wandered slowly down the beach enjoying the feel of the ocean breeze and the salty taste of the air. They had walked almost a mile when Chloe abruptly asked Rush “What is your IQ?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and replied “I dun no” She looked up at him. “You don’t know?” she repeated. “No “ he said simply. He watched as she mulled that over for a few seconds and then she blurted out “ I heard that they were never able to get an accurate score on you because you always tested off the charts” He stopped and turned to look at her. “Well now who told you that love?’ (The way he called her “love” sent chills down her spine.) “It doesn’t matter, is it true?” “Aye, that’s true” he replied while looking over her head off into space. Chloe felt emboldened and so went on “ I heard that a team of Oxford professors spent six months preparing an IQ test just for you, and that it was three hundred questions and even though you had four hours to finish it you did it in under an hour with a perfect score. Is that true?”

He chuckled, his smile lighting up his face and eyes “You must have a very good source, that was some time ago. Why do you want to know?” Chloe felt herself blush under his scrutiny. “I just find intelligence intriguing. I’ve never met anyone with an off the chart IQ. Even Eli, as smart as he is, has a measurable IQ.” They stood for a moment until the silence began to be uncomfortable, and then Rush pointed over her head in the direction of the tree line “I think I see what we have been looking for Miss Armstrong” She turned to see what he was pointing at. Fruit trees!! She tilted her head back to see his face and with a decidedly wicked grin on her’s said “I’ll race you.”

Rush collapsed to the ground, his breathing rapid from the run across the beach. He had forgotten how difficult it is to run in sand, not to mention racing with someone who cheats. When he caught his breath he looked down at Chloe who had also collapsed to the ground next to him laughing. “You, love are a cheater” he said as solemnly as he could. This simply sent her off into another fit of laughter. He looked at her with mock sternness, “this is no laughing matter Miss Armstrong , you deliberately tripped me which is a violation of the rules.” This elicited yet more laughter. She held up a hand and said “stop, stop, your killing me!” Nicholas Rush smiled looking at the young women who was still holding her sides and laughing . It made him feel alive in a way that he hadn’t in such a long time to see her really happy. He made a mental note to thank TJ for making him take a vacation, and for providing him with such wonderful company.

When Chloe was finally able to stop laughing they got about the business of gathering some fruit. It kind of looked like mangos, the skin a reddish color and the flesh a golden yellow. It had been tested and pronounced safe so after gathering about half a dozen they sat facing the ocean to watch as the setting sun lit up the horizon and Rush peeled the first one handing it to Chloe. He watched as she bit into it, closing her eyes in order to better savor the rich sweet taste. He found that he could not take his eyes off of her rather perfect mouth. Her lips were a beautiful peachy pink color and now wet with the juice of the fruit.

He was startled when he realized that she had opened her eyes and was watching him watch her. He felt his face getting red, hoping that in the fading sunlight she wouldn’t notice ‘Bloody hell’ he thought, what am I sixteen?’ Chloe got up on her knees and faced him. “You try” she said her voice sounding husky. She held the fruit up to his mouth and looking into her eyes he took a bite. The juice exploded in his mouth, so sweet and delicious. As he took another bite his lip touched her finger and Chloe suddenly dropped the fruit. She looked in his eyes and saw that they had gone dark, and his breathing had increased. She felt his desire so strong it caused her to catch her breath.

Suddenly he took control. Raising himself to his knees he took her face in his hands and softly kissed her lips reveling in the sensation, and the taste of her mingled with the sweet fruit. He waited for her reaction. It was a short wait. With a moan born of long repressed desire she pulled him to her kissing him hard, her tongue darting into his mouth, tasting him, exploring him. She felt his arms come around her back to pull her close and he began kissing her in earnest. His hand wrapped in her long hair, and he tilted her head, his lips and tongue making a trail down her check, to her jaw line, and then to her neck. Chloe felt her head spinning. She realized that she had never been this aroused in her life.

She groaned as his hands began an expert exploration of her body, gliding over her, cupping her breast , letting his fingers caress her nipple and smiling to himself as he felt her start to tremble. Slowly he moved his hand down to feel the soft roundness of her buttock, all the while kissing her like a man who was starving and she was dinner.

“Chloe, Dr. Rush, where are you?” They both startled when they heard Scott’s voice calling them. Chloe pulled away first. “Oh God!!” she breathed as she watched Rush trying to come back from where his desire had taken him. “Nicholas! He’ll be here in a minute, are you ok?” Rush shook his head causing his hair to brush Chloe’s face “ Yes” he managed to get out, his voice still rough with passion. Chloe hurriedly smoothed her hair and tried to get her breathing under control, while Rush tried to conceal the visible evidence of their tryst. Chloe’s eyes widened as she accidentally caught a glimpse. Rush simply smiled at her and tried to get himself under control before that idiot Scott showed up.

And speak of the devil there he was with Eli in tow. “Hey, are you guys ok. It was getting dark and we got worried.” Scott said as he approached them. Rush leaned back, some of the fruit that they had picked placed strategically in his lap. “Aye Lt. we were just enjoying this lovely sunset.” He smiled broadly at Scott ,and Chloe found that she was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

Eli looked at them and even in the growing darkness he saw that Chloe looked flushed, and he had never seen Rush this congenial. Scott didn’t seem to notice. Chloe looked at Eli and he raised an eyebrow. He was surprised when she shot him a pleading look. He quickly said “well we better get back to camp before it gets completely dark” Scott held a hand out to Chloe and helped her up. Rush stood up carefully, keeping his back to the group as much as possible. “Are you alright Dr. Rush?” Scott inquired. “Aye” Rush replied “just a little stiff Lt.” Chloe thanked god it was almost dark by now or Scott and Eli would have seen her struggling to keep from busting out with laughter.

When they got back to camp they saw that the away team had built a bonfire and were sitting around it swigging some of Brody’s hooch and laughing. “Oh hey, I seem to be missing a real live party” exclaimed Eli and he ran in the direction of the bonfire. Scott smiled his arm around Chloe’s shoulders, (which was pissing Rush off to no end).“Are you going to join the party Dr.?” he inquired. “ I think not, my purpose in coming here is to rest and I think that that is what I shall do. Goodnight Lt, Miss Armstrong.” Chloe looked into his eyes and saw the anger there, and something else. What? Sadness. Yes, sadness. “Goodnight Dr. Rush”, she said quietly, “I had a lovely time today.” He smiled and nodded at her “My pleasure Miss Armstrong” and then he turned away. It was almost too much to bear, watching him go into the dark alone, knowing the nightmares that awaited him.

When Rush got back to his tent ,which was well away from the main encampment on purpose, he sighed and looked at the rather nice bed that Chloe had made up for him earlier in the day. He noticed that someone, he suspected Lt. James as she had a kind heart, had brought him a wide selection of the various fruits, berries, nuts, and root vegetables that they had spent the day gathering. He smiled when he saw one of the mango like fruits and knew he would never look at a mango or mango like fruit in quite the same way again. Starting to feel very tired, he sat on the bed and ate until he was full, ( the first time in a long time.) Setting aside the tray, he stood up and began to strip his clothes off, down to his briefs, and slid between the sheets. As he closed his eyes, and felt sleep about to overtake him, he wished that he would dream of mangos tonight.

Chloe and Scott stood and watched as Rush disappeared into the dark, and then Scott said “Sorry you got stuck with looking after him. I can’t think of a more boring assignment.” He was surprised when Chloe pulled away and looked up at him angrily, “Matt, you are such an idiot sometimes. Did you know that Dr. Rush has an IQ that is off the charts. How can it be boring spending time with someone who has that kind of intellect.” She didn’t mention the professional journals. Scott looked baffled by her response, and began to wonder why she was all of a sudden defending Rush. But now that he thought about it, it wasn’t all of a sudden.

He recalled Lt. James telling him about an incident that had occurred a couple of weeks ago. Someone in the mess had said that they would all be better off if the aliens had kept Rush. Chloe had exploded up out of her chair with enough force to turn it over, and stalked up to the person who had made the statement, looking as though she might strike her but instead eyes blazing, she spat out “how dare you? You have no idea what they did to him, are still doing to him in his nightmares.” She looked around the room at the people who were watching her in shocked silence. “Do you people realize how he is driving himself to keep all of us alive?” “ Yeah , well he is keeping himself alive at the same time, which is all he cares about” someone in the back shouted.

Chloe’s anger rose to new heights. “Really” she sneered “ then how do you explain why he risked being recaptured in order to save me? He could have just left me there. It would have been much easier if he had. And have you forgotten that he risked his own life by disfusing that bomb to save Dr. Park?” Greer who was sitting a couple of tables away said “he lied to the Colonel about having control of the ship, you can’t trust him.” Chloe turned on him “well I wonder why he might not have told your precious Colonel ? Maybe because he left him to die alone on a deserted planet with no food and no water. There was no rock slide and we all know it! He left him there to be captured by aliens who tortured him. Did surgery on him without benefit of anesthesia.” She turned a look so filled with malice on Greer that he actually flinched “Do you think maybe that is why he felt he couldn’t trust your holier than thou Colonel, Sgt. Greer? DO YOU SGT?” she shouted loud enough to cause Becker to drop the tray he was carrying out of the kitchen.

Chloe heard someone gasp and she turned to see Rush standing in the door of the mess. He seemed embarrassed as everyone turned to look at him, and Chloe, gazing around the room said vehemently “you people make me sick”, and with that she walked over to Rush and taking his hand led him, under protest, over to the table she had been sharing with Eli, Brody and Lt. James.

Now the same angry Chloe stood before Scott. “What’s going on Chloe?’ he said, fearing what he might hear. Chloe took a deep breath “Matt, not you or anyone else on that ship have any idea what he is suffering, and I do. Now I am going to my tent and I will see you in the morning.” Scott started to protest, having planned on a romantic evening, but Chloe said coldly “Goodnight Matt” Scott stalked away muttering under his breath.

Chloe didn’t like sleeping alone, but it seemed that she had no choice tonight. She did not want to breath the same air as Matt and she knew Rush was already asleep by the sound of his breathing when she had gone by his tent to check on him. She knew that he wouldn’t mind if she woke him but she kept remembering how TJ had said that if he didn’t get some sleep and soon, he was going to kill himself. So she decided to sit outside his tent and wait until he woke up on his own.

Eli, who was rather drunk, saw her sitting outside Rush’s tent and came over to check on her. “Chloe” he said loudly as he approached. “ Shhh!!” Chloe hissed at him “you’ll wake him and TJ said that it was imperative that he sleep.” Eli put his index finger to his lips and nodded his head drunkenly.

He plopped down on the sand beside her. “Hey, Chloe, what goes on with you and Rush?” he asked with the bluntness that only strong drink gives you. Chloe feigned surprise “What are you talking about Eli?” she said. “Come on,” he said “I saw the look you gave me back there. What were you and Rush doing Chloe?” “That is entirely none of your business Mr. Wallace” came a deep voice with a familiar Scottish accent out of the dark. Chloe and Eli both jumped.

They turned to see Rush standing in the opening of the tent dressed only in his briefs. The light from the still blazing bonfire lit up his body, showing his broad shoulders, that narrowed down to a trim waist, and well muscled legs. Chloe actually gasped at the sight of Nicholas Rush in nothing but his skivvies. Eli, mouth agape looked from Rush, to Chloe, and then back to Rush. ‘Well‘ he thought to himself ‘I might as well not be here. Rush held out his hand and said softly “Chloe” Chloe stood up, Eli’s presence all but forgotten, and walked toward Rush. She took his hand and they turned to go into the tent. “Goodnight Mr. Wallace” Rush called over his shoulder.

Eli sat there in stunned silence for a few seconds, and then heard someone hissing his name from the tree line. ”Eli” He looked up to see Lt. Vanessa James standing behind a tree motioning to him to come over. He got up and began to stumble over to her, his spinning head making it difficult. When he reached her she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the trees, almost causing him to go down. “Hey, hey, hey, watch the merchandise“ he said.

She stopped, and he looked into her face surprised to see a look of deep concern there. At first he thought that her concern was for him, and he wondered if he had eaten something that had proved to be poisonous, but she looked at him and said in a quite serious voice “Eli, you have to keep what you saw just now a secret, do you understand?”

Eli looked at her and shook his head “are you kidding, the juiciest piece of gossip since we came on board Destiny, and you want me to keep quite?” He flinched as he saw the anger flash in her eyes. “Now you listen to me Eli, you are not a child anymore. Peoples lives are at stake here, and if you dare breath a word of this to anyone, and I mean anyone, I will hunt you down and castrate you with a dull rusty knife. Do you understand?’ Eli looked into her eyes and was instantly afraid. He knew her reputation, and had no difficulty believing that she could and would do as she promised, (she probably had a dull rusty knife just for the occasion). “Ok, ok, ok, calm down. I won’t say anything I promise.” He saw a look of relief cross her face, and then, again emboldened by strong drink he asked “why do you care anyway, and what do you mean “lives are at stake”?”

“Look Eli” she began “Chloe and I have become pretty close in the last few months. Eli she’s in love, and not with Scott” Eli stared at her and she saw the light of comprehension dawn in his eye’s. “Rush?!!” he finally squeaked out. James nodded “yes, and for quite a while. Chloe didn’t know it herself until just recently, but whenever we get together she can’t talk about anything else. Whatever we’re talking about she always brings the conversation back around to Rush. A sure sign of a woman in love Eli.”

Eli was silent, taking in the fact that someone like Chloe could be in love with Rush. “Eli” James broke in “there’s more.” Eli cleared his throat “more” he said quietly. “Yes” James said. “Have you noticed any changes in Dr. Rush lately?” Eli thought about it for a moment and then said “Well, he’s lost more weight, mainly because he works like a madman and forgets to eat, and you know he really can’t afford to lose any more. And I don’t know when he sleeps. He always seems to be working, every time I go into the control room he’s there” James interrupted him “that’s right Eli, and TJ told me and Chloe that if he doesn’t get some rest soon and start eating he’s going to kill himself.”

Eli felt a stab of fear grip him. What would they do without Rush? As much as some people liked to run him down Eli knew that they would all be dead a dozen times over if not for Rush. He looked at James “what has that got to do with Chloe?” he asked. James shook her head at how young Eli really was. “He loves her Eli, more then he knows I think, and he needs her. She makes him smile and she’ll look after him, make sure that he eats and sleeps. She is the only one who knows what his nightmares are like. They have a unique bond.” Eli followed her gaze to look back at Rush’s tent. “Ok” he whispered “I won’t tell anyone, but heaven help Rush if Matt finds out.”

Rush ran his hand through his hair, and watched as Chloe sat on the chair where he had sat earlier reading. ‘Oh my god’ he thought to himself, ‘she is so beautiful, and so young. What the hell am I doing! I’m almost twice her age, and she’s in a relationship. What the hell am I doing!’ Chloe looked up at him, and suddenly her eye’s filled with tears that began streaming down her face. ‘Bloody hell‘, he thought, ‘what do I do now’ . He approached her, knelt down, and reaching out took her hand’s in his. “What is it love, why are you crying?” his accent thick with emotion (it always gave him away).

He reached up to brush away her tears, softly caressing her skin, and she smiled at him. “I love you Nicholas Rush” she said quietly and clutched his hand in hers lightly kissing his fingertips. His eyes widened, and before he could say anything she put her hand to his mouth to stop him. “You don’t have to say it back, I just wanted you to know.” Her voice was husky with the passion that she felt for this man who was knelling in front of her. She loved him so much that it actually hurt. A dull ache in the center of her chest that felt like it was squeezing her heart. She drew a deep shaky breath, and watched his face, trying to read him.

He rose up on his knees to face her, and placing his hand behind her neck, pulled her to him. It started out slow, with his lips moving over hers, softly, gently, and then he deepened it, his tongue entering her mouth exploring , probing, tasting her until she moaned. Without breaking the kiss he pulled her to her feet and gently pulled her against him, groaning with the intensity of his own passion come full force. They stood toe to toe kissing, letting their hands roam each others bodies. As Rush was still only in his briefs, Chloe could feel his erection against her thigh. She reached down sliding her hand past the waistband, and grasped him causing him to groan again.

He raised his head to look at her. His eyes had gone completely black from the intensity of his passion and she knew that this was going to be like nothing she had ever experienced before, because Nicholas Rush was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Bending down he picked her up like she was a child and carried her to the bed. Setting her down he wasted no time in grasping the hem of her dress pulling it over her head.

She stood before him clad only in a rather beautiful pushup bra with matching panties. He took time to take in the luminescent ivory skin running his hands over her, the soft rounded curves of her breast and the smooth flat abdomen. His breathing had quickened and Chloe reached up to put her arms around his neck and pull him down to kiss her, but suddenly he stiffened and resisted her. She looked at him and said “what’s wrong?” He saw tears begin to well up in her eyes again. “nothings wrong love, nothing” he reassured her stroking her hair and silently cursing himself. “What is it then?” she asked quietly. “Chloe” he said tilting her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “Are you sure that this is what you want? I mean I don’t intend for this to be just, as they say, a one night stand. If you give yourself to me I will consider you mine. And I won’t share. Do you understand?”

Chloe swallowed hard. Had she heard right? Had Dr. Nicholas Rush, the Dr. Nicholas Rush just said that he wanted to be exclusive? She felt him tense as it took her longer to respond then he had anticipated. Holding his eyes with her own she said in a firm and determined voice “I want this, and you, more then I have ever wanted anything, anything in my whole life” He smiled at her and his whole face lit up with the joy that he obviously felt.

He lowered his face to hers his lips brushing her skin, his hot breath making her begin to tremble again, and then he was kissing her, hard this time, delving into her mouth with his tongue in a way that literally took her breath away. She felt his fingers nimbly unfasten her bra and pull it off, then breaking the kiss he quickly grasped her panties and pulled them down so that she could step out of them. She in turn grasped his briefs and pulled them down and off tossing them across the tent, all the while they were kissing and letting their hands explore each others bodies. “Nicholas” she breathed as he gathered her into his arms and crushed her lips with his own.

He gently pushed her back towards the bed and Chloe lay down. Rush quickly joined her, physically pulling her up until they were in the center of the bed. He raised himself up and leaned over her, his hair brushing her face. “Aye love” he whispered “you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen” He lowered his head and kissed her breast, his tongue flicking her nipple until it was taught, and then he moved to the other. She felt like she was on fire and her moans urged him on. Her fingers twined in his hair and pressed him even closer to her. She felt his hand slid down her body and make its way to her lower abdomen, stopping briefly when he reached the soft hair there.

He lifted his head and his lips came down on hers as his fingers began to explore her, brushing lightly over her clit, and she moaned raising her hips into his hand. ”Nicholas” she whispered “ please” His lips trailed across her check, down her jaw line and to her neck. He whispered softly “patience love, patience.” He continued his assault on her senses, his mouth trailing hot over her, teeth nipping at the tender skin of her throat leaving a mark of ownership, and his fingers probing her until she was so close she was gasping for breath. “oh god, Nicholas please!!” she cried raking her fingernails down his back.

Then taking her by surprise he turned over with her so that she was on top of him. Taking the hint Chloe reached between his legs and grasped his cock which was hard and pulsing in her hand. She watched his face as he groaned trying to control himself, and then she lowered herself onto him. His sharp intake of breath made her smile. He reached out and took her hand in his and squeezed it. She felt powerful as she began to raise and lower herself on him setting a quick rhythm.

She had never felt such intense sexual pleasure before, and her breath started coming in quick short gasps as she neared her climax, crying his name along with other unintelligible sounds. Through the roaring in her ears she could hear him saying “Yes love, that’s right.” And then her orgasm burst through her, feeling like a supernova exploding from her loins and spreading out to every part of her body. At the moment of climax he pulled her down to hold her in his arms as her body shook with the force.

Rush watched her face as she began to come down and then he stopped holding himself in check and turning over with her without disengaging he thrust hard into her. Again he found her hand with his and held it tight as he neared his climax. “Chloe, oh god love!!” He cried burying his face in her hair as he released inside of her with a series of quick shuddering strokes, his whole body rigid and completely out of his control. Chloe tightened down on him, causing him to cry out incoherently. Finally she felt his body relax and he collapsed onto her, his head beside hers, his hair, wet with sweat ,brushing her cheek.

She held him while his breathing began to slow down. After a few minutes he raised himself and looking into her eyes said simply “Oh god” “ My sentiments exactly Dr. Rush” she said smiling. He lowered his face and gently kissed her mouth, so soft and sweet it made her ache. He rolled off and gathering her into his arms pulled her in tight against him. The only light in the tent was from the moon, but it was enough for him to see the growing bruise on her neck that he had placed there. “I hope I didn’t hurt you love” he said in that beautiful Scottish accent of his, and then sleep overtook him. Chloe turned so that she could see his face in the moonlight. What she saw made her smile. Nicholas Rush completely relaxed and asleep.

Chloe woke in the morning to the sound of raised voices. As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she recognized the voices. Matt and Nicholas. Her eyes flew open, and she jumped up pulling the blanket with her to cover herself, and ran to the tent opening. Looking out she saw Matt standing glaring at Rush who was a few feet away, dressed only in his jeans, and bare footed. She was relieved to see that Matt was not carrying a gun, but her tension built as she listened to their argument. “Damn it Rush, Where the hell is Chloe!!” “Lt. Scott, Miss Armstrong is quite well, and will I’m sure be seeing you later today. For now she is asleep, and I have no intention of waking her” Chloe admired how cool Rush was as he faced a highly trained Marine who was some twenty years younger then himself.

“Do you mean that she spent the night in your tent, sleeping!!?” Scott shouted. “Nay, I didn’t say that, now did I?” Rush replied. Scott was seething and started to say something else when Rush turned his back to him and bent to pick up his tee shirt which was laying on the sand. Scotts face went livid with anger when he saw the marks on Rush’s back and he started for him at a full run. Chloe screamed “Nicholas!!!” but it was too late. Scott hit Rush from behind knocking him to the ground, and Chloe heard Rush swear “Bloody hell” as Scott began reigning blows down on him, striking his face and landing blows to his torso and lower back.

Then Rush managed to turn himself with enough force to knock his attacker backwards off of him. He sat up, and quickly jumped to his feet, as Scott came at him again. Chloe was running, screaming “stop!, stop!” as loud as she could. Out of the corner of her eye she saw people from the encampment picking up speed as they raced towards them. It seemed like forever, but in reality only a few seconds elapsed before Greer, James, and Airman Dunning reached them and began pulling the two men apart.

Chloe ran to Rush and threw her arms around him putting herself between them. At first Rush pushed forward, his face savage, shouting curses, intent on getting to Scott who was likewise struggling with Greer and James. Chloe held on tight “Nicholas!” she shouted “stop please, stop!“ Looking down at her, seeing the tears on her face Rush swore “fuck!” and slowly stopped struggling putting his arms around her, and holding her tight against him.

Scott was pacing back and forth behind Greer who was saying “Calm down Lt. calm down.” Chloe looked at Rush‘s face, a cut over his right eye and an already growing bruise above his temple and said “Oh god Nick I’m so sorry, are you ok?” “He nodded “Aye” he said in the thick heavy accent of his native Scotland. Rush was still trying to get his temper under control. He didn’t want to unleash the white hot rage that he hadn’t felt since he was a young man in Glasgow. The rage which had gotten him in so much trouble. His pub mates had all said that his temper was as off the charts as his IQ. He had learned over the years to keep it in check, but at the moment he was struggling with it.

Eli came running up and took in the situation pretty quickly. He looked at James and shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘well you don’t have to worry about me spilling the beans.’

Scott had stopped struggling with his fellow soldiers, and looked over at Chloe, who was tending to Rush under his protest. He took in her state of undress , the disheveled hair, and then his eyes landed on the bruise on her neck. His blood began to boil again. He spat on the ground at her feet and snarled “slut”.

Rush looked up at the younger man and deliberately let go of the tight reigns that he usually held his temper in check with, and then he felt something that he hadn’t felt in almost twenty-five years. The white hot rage of his off the charts temper. He was running at Scott so quickly that everyone was caught off guard. Rush had played rugby as a young man and even though he had a slight build his intensity had made him an excellent tackler.

He barreled into Scott throwing him backward a good six feet from where he had been standing, knocking the breath out of him. Rush came down on top of him and began pounding his fist into the other mans face, blow after blow with no mercy, and no chance for Scott to even try to defend himself. If Greer, James, Eli, and airman Dunning had not pulled the struggling, swearing, enraged Scotsman off of him he surly would have killed Scott.

They had never seen Rush like this, so out of control and wild, with blood running down his face from the laceration above his right eye and now his fist covered in Scott’s blood. He continued to keep four people busy trying to keep him off of Scott, who lay on his back not moving, swearing all the while Scottish curses that no one understood except him. “Nicholas!, Nicholas!” Chloe shouted as she came closer. At first he didn’t seem to hear her, but she called again “Nicholas!!” grabbing him by the arm, and she saw a flash of understanding in his eyes. He stopped struggling, and they watched as he again fought to get control over his temper.

They all stood in stunned silence for a few moments, before Greer pulled out his radio and depressing a switch said “TJ, this is Greer, we need you on the surface.” A moment latter TJ responded “On my way”. Greer looked at Rush shaking his head and said quietly “remind me not to piss you off doc.” He then walked over and knelt down next to Scott.

Rush looked down at Chloe and said softly “come love” and began walking towards the tent. Chloe still wrapped in the blanket stumbled over the fabric, and without a word Rush bent down and picked her up in his arms and carried her across the beach disappearing into the tent. Eli looked at James and said “wow”. James nodded “couldn’t have said it better myself” she said quietly.

TJ arrived within minutes, and went directly to Scott, knelling down to examine him. She took in the battered, bloody face, and said to Greer “what the hell happened?” Greer in typical Greer fashion gave her the facts as he saw them, with Eli and James filling in some details, as she worked on a semi-conscious Scott. When they had finished she looked up at Greer and said “so your saying that Lt. Scott initiated this by attacking Rush first and then further provoked him by insulting Chloe, right?” Greer who considered himself a friend of Scotts shook his head and said “yes”. TJ looked at Eli, James, and Dunning, “you all agree with that?” They all shook their heads in the affirmative. “Very well” she said, “Greer, Dunning, I want you to get Lt. Scott back to the infirmary ASAP. I am going to check on Dr. Rush and will be along shortly. I also want all of you to write down your recollection of events before the details start to fade, understood?” They all nodded in agreement, and TJ picked up her bag and headed for Rush’s tent.

Rush and Chloe were sitting on the side of the bed when they heard TJ clear her throat and say “Dr. Rush”. Rush stood and went to the tent opening, pulling back the flap, “Lt. Johansen” TJ took in his flushed face, the nasty cut over his right eye and the growing bruise on his temple, and said “may I come in?” Rush stepped back and said softly “please” as TJ walked past him into the tent. Chloe was sitting on the bed still wrapped in the blanket, and she blushed hotly when TJ looked at her.

TJ didn’t quite know where to begin so she just jumped in. “I just examined Lt. Scott and sent him back to the infirmary” Rush who had sat down on the bed next to Chloe looked up and said “Is he going to be alright?” his voice rough with emotion. “Yes, his nose is broken in two places and I think that he has a hairline fracture of his right orbital rim, as well as numerous lacerations, but he should recover” Rush lowered his head and both TJ and Chloe were stunned to see his shoulders start to shake as he gave way to tears. “Nicholas” Chloe said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. TJ stood in silence as Rush continued to cry quietly. She knew that this was a perfectly normal response to the release of large quantities of adrenaline, and simply waited for him to get it out.

After a few minutes Rush raised his head and absent mindedly ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry” he said his voice husky. “No need to apologize Dr. Rush” TJ said. He looked at her and she saw the gratitude in his eyes. Looking past her he said in a voice so quite she had to strain to hear him, “Nay, I have much to apologize for Lt. I let myself lose control for the first time in almost twenty five years, and it is not something that I am proud of.” He lowered his head and Chloe tightened her grip around his shoulders.

He began to talk and TJ and Chloe listened as he told them of his younger days in Glasgow Scotland, of fighting to stay alive in a harsh environment, of how his off the charts temper had almost gotten him killed on more than one occasion, and then he said “when I was twenty three and had just gotten a full scholarship to Oxford, I got in a fight with a man who had questioned my parentage, if you know what I mean.” He struggled to control his emotions as he recalled the event. He looked up “I nearly killed that man” he said fiercely. “nearly killed him for calling me a bastard, which I am. It almost ruined my life, not to mention what I did to him. I swore to myself that it would never happen again” he said vehemently “and it hasn’t until today.”

TJ thought for a moment before she said slowly “Dr. Rush, while I am certainly not condoning the use of violence, my understanding of the events, from eye witness accounts, lays the blame for this squarely at the feet of Lt. Scott. And Nicholas”, he looked up at her use of his given name, “even you are human, not a machine who can control every emotion.” Chloe squeezed his shoulders again and said “listen to her Nicholas, she’s right.” Looking at TJ again he said “I appreciate your understanding Lt.”

Slinging her bag off of her shoulder TJ said “alright then”, once again the medical professional “let me take a look at you”. She started towards the bed, but Rush put up his hands shaking his head “there’s no need I’m fine.” TJ stopped and looked at him sternly “Dr. Rush” she said formally “this is not a request” He looked up at her weighing the possibility of winning this argument, and decided that while it might be possible, he didn’t think he had the strength. “Very well” he said with resignation. TJ was somewhat surprised at how easily he gave up but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and bent to begin the exam.

First she checked his pupils for reaction to light which was normal and then asked him a few questions, “do you feel light headed, is your vision normal, do you have a headache” all of which he answered in the negative. She then took some gauze, moistened it with alcohol, and cleaned the gash over his right eye finishing by putting a small piece of tape on it.

Finally she said “ok, please remove your shirt.” He looked at Chloe who had a hint of a smile playing around her lips and said “I really don’t think that will be necessary Lt.” TJ looked in his eyes and said in a low voice “you, Dr. Rush are not a trained medical professional, I am and I do think that it’s necessary. Now remove your shirt”

Chloe saw a flash of anger in his eyes and wondered if he was going to refuse when suddenly he pulled the shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the floor. “Bloody hell” he swore. TJ smiled and said “can you please stand up”. Again he started to protest , but instead stood up, wanting to get this over with.

TJ stood also and began examining him, her hands running over his torso in a practiced way, probing his sides to check for broken ribs, “any pain there” “no’ he replied. “Ok turn around” Rush sighed heavily and did as she asked. TJ’s only reaction to the scratches down his back was to raise her eyebrows and glance at Chloe, who was smiling. TJ then looked at his lower back and saw the large purple bruise that had already formed there, over the area of his right kidney. Rush flinched as her fingers probed it, and Chloe’s smile faded.

Finally she finished the exam and told Rush that he could put his shirt back on. “Well” she said “my main concern is your kidney. It should heal fine on it’s own, but you can expect some blood in your urine for the next couple of days, if it goes on longer then that you need to come and see me, alright?” “I’ll keep an eye on it” Chloe said, and Rush looked down at her wondering if he was going to be expected to piss in front of her for the next couple of days. TJ had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the look on his face. Priceless, absolutely priceless.

After TJ left, Chloe and Rush decided that a nap was in order after the rather strenuous events of the day. They curled up together in the bed and Rush kissed her softly. “Sleep now love” he said. She smiled, thinking that she was the luckiest woman in the world (no, universe she corrected herself.)

Rush woke and was surprised to realize that they had slept for several hours. He looked down at Chloe who was still sleeping soundly and smiled to himself. For the millionth time he wondered what this beautiful creature saw in him. He was almost twice her age, had a rather caustic personality, and certainly couldn’t offer her the kind of life that she was used to, that is assuming that they ever got back to earth.

He watched as she began to stir, opening her large blue eyes to look up at him. She smiled broadly, completely happy to wake up in his arms. “Hi” she said drowsily. “Hi” he murmured back. She raised up on her arm and stared at him, taking in every detail of his face including the rather impressive bruise on the right side. She leaned over to softly kiss his lips and then went on to kiss the wound over his right eye, finishing by tenderly kissing the bruise above his temple, “feel better?” she whispered to him, her breath on his cheek sending a thrill of desire through him. “Aye, love” he managed, his voice thick with the passion that he felt building inside of him.

She reached under the covers and slid her hand down to grasp him in her hand and began stroking him. He laid his head back and moaned under her ministrations. While still attending to him she rose up, her hair falling down around his face, and leaned down to kiss him, her lips moving over his, tongue exploring his mouth, teeth nipping at him, making him feel like he was going to explode any moment.

As a man of iron will he was not used to feeling like he was going to lose control, over anything, but least of all his own body. His arms came up around her back, ‘time to take control’ he thought to himself. He ran his hand up to the back of her neck and pulled her down to him, kissing her deeply, she moaned as she gave in to let him do as he pleased.

Still holding her he rolled over so that he was on top, looking into her face. She looked up at him and was again struck by how handsome he was, his large brown eyes were almost black with his passion, his lips parted, thick brown hair framing his face. Again Chloe felt the ache of her love for him squeeze her heart, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. Using one hand Rush pulled her hands above her head and held them there, and then he began to kiss her face, her eyes, her temples, down her cheek, and then to her mouth. As his tongue passed her lips, he thrust himself into below, and she shivered with pleasure “god he has good timing.” she thought. He began to thrust, oh so slowly, over and over, and now he was kissing her nipple, sucking, flicking his tongue over it and then lightly biting it. Chloe’s breath was coming in short quick gasps, and she thought for a minute that she might pass out from sheer pleasure.  
“Nicholas” she groaned ,and tried to pull her hands free of his grasp so that she could wrap her arms around him and pull him closer to her, but he maintained his hold on them and continued thrusting into her, his strokes smooth and deep. All Chloe could do was raise her hips to meet his thrust for thrust. “Yes love”, he whispered in her ear, “that’s right”. Chloe began to feel something building deep inside, and with each thrust it grew more powerful, building in intensity until she was screaming “Oh god Nick, please!!” and then suddenly he was kissing her again and released her hands so that she could hold onto him as her orgasm coursed through her body. “God! God! Nick!! she clutched him to her like she would never let go. At that moment she tightened down on him and he felt his control slipping away, as his own climax came to a head, he released inside of her, his cries muffled as he buried his face in her hair. Now she held him as his body convulsed with the force of his release. She had never experienced anything that powerful, had not even realized that it was possible. No man she had ever been with( not that there had been that many) had even come close to bringing her that kind of pleasure. Rush raised his head to look at her and without a word he kissed her, again achingly soft and sweet, before he rolled to her side. They lay there for a long time just being close to one another, touching, talking a little, basking in the warmth that they felt.

After a while Chloe realized that they had not eaten that day, and she kicked herself for forgetting that she was supposed to be looking after him and making sure that he ate and slept. While he had gotten some much needed sleep, she knew that he hadn’t eaten since early the night before.

“Nick” she said, “I’m starving”, lets go see what we can find.” He looked at her smiling and said “alright love, lets”.

After cleaning up they walked hand in hand along the beach toward the encampment. Chloe was in a loose flowing dress that she had borrowed from Lisa Park, her hair tied back with a piece of fabric that she had torn from one of the bed clothes on the Destiny. She was barefoot to enjoy the sand between her toes. Rush had on his usual jeans, but they were rolled halfway up his calves, and he was also barefoot. He had asked Greer to borrow a black fatigue shirt as Lt. Scotts blood was still on his, and he had it soaking. His thick brown hair was wet and slicked back from where he had washed it. It was nearing sunset and the away team was preparing another bonfire.

As they approached, they saw that there were new people here tonight, a different away team. Lisa Park, Volker, Camille Wray, and TJ among them. They also saw Eli, and Lt. James. TJ looked up as they came up to the bonfire, “good evening” she said taking in Rush’s relaxed posture and the smile on his face. Lisa Park stared open mouthed at this rather bohemian looking Rush, and Volker had to elbow her in the ribs to get her to look away. “Good evening” Rush said to the group, ‘”we were hoping to join you for dinner, if that is alright with everyone” Camille looked up and her eye’s widened as she took in Rush’s bruised face and his state of dress.

The news of Rush, Chloe and Scott had spread like wildfire aboard Destiny, and there were many who had a new respect for Rush, herself included. She spoke up “ of course Nicholas, you and Chloe are more than welcome” Rush smiled and seated Chloe by the fire, turning to Airman Becker he said “can I help?” Everyone including Chloe stopped and looked at him in stunned surprise. He returned their looks and said mildly “don’t look so surprised, I worked as a cook in Glasgow for three years before going to University.” Now there really was stunned silence as no one could picture him as anything but a driven scientist. He walked up to where Becker had a grill grate made out of a panel from Destiny over a fire, and on a makeshift table a gathering of various nuts, fruits, berries, and some root vegetables laid out. “Lets see what you’ve got” he said rubbing his hands together.

The whole group watched in disbelief as Rush skillfully chopped up the vegetables, using a chefs knife like he had been born with one in his hand. He tasted each one as he went to determine what mix of flavors would work best. He got quite excited when he discovered one that tasted a lot like an onion, “yes, yes” he exclaimed, “ this will make all the difference.” His dark eyes dancing, and his thick brown hair framing his face, the other women there began to see what Chloe had seen all along. Chloe noticed the looks and thought to herself ‘eat your hearts out girls’.

As he worked he took the time to teach Becker, who really was not a cook, but had just worked in the mess as a server. “You see” Rush explained as he tossed the ingredients he had prepared into a blazing hot pan “you get the pan as hot as you can and when you throw in the lot they are seared, sealing in the juices. Now a bit of seasoning” he picked up a handful of salt that they had gathered a couple of planets ago and raising his hand high above the pan swirled it around over the sizzling ingredients, and gave it all a good toss. Then he picked up one of the mango like fruits that he had peeled and squeezed it’s juice over the whole lot. A few more tosses and he removed it from the flame. They all watched as he tasted it, and a smile came to his lips, “dinner is served” he said.

Chloe was stunned when she took the first bite. It had a roasted, sweet taste, with all the vegetables mingled together, the nuts and a few fruits adding depth to the dish. Camille closed her eyes to better savor the first really good food she had had in years. There was no talking as everyone concentrated on the meal.

When it was all gone, TJ, turned to look at Rush. “And why is it that we are only now finding out about your cooking abilities, Dr.” she said in a somewhat mocking stern tone. Rush looked at her, shrugging his shoulders, and said “to be honest, I haven’t cooked in years. Really good cooking comes from the heart, and after my wife died I simply lost the heart to do it.” He said it matter of factly but it made every women there ache just a little for him. “Eating became important only to sustain my body, nothing more. I haven’t thought about cooking in years” He stood up and extended his hand to Chloe “ care for a stroll, love” he said, pulling her to her feet. Putting his arm around her waist they walked off toward the beach. “Alright” Eli said pointing at Rush’s back “who is that?”

Chloe walked along in silence, content just to be with him. After a while though she found her curiosity getting the better of her. “So any other hidden talents that I’m not aware of?” she asked. He smiled in the dark “patience love, all will be revealed in time” he said mysteriously. Chloe burst out laughing. What wild adventure was living with this man was going to be.


End file.
